I debated whether or not to actually go through with it, but then in the spirit of "what the hell, I some how managed to start a blog this year", I decided, let's do this! After all, someone will benefit from it so how can I turn it down? And if it brings in more traffic, well I guess that is a good thing, right?
I was approached by the promotions team at CSN Stores (click here for their site) for this giveaway and we ultimately decided on giving away a $60 gift certificate to one of the their sites. This includes sites such as www.allgreenhouses.com and www.cookware.com.
So here are the specifics:
How to enter - simply leave a comment within this post in regards to the following question. If you could garden with three people (alive or deceased) who would it be and why? They can be famous or non famous folks.
How will the winner be notified - I will get the email address of the winner and provide to the contact at CSN Stores. They will then send the gift certificate, via email, to the winner.
How will the winner be chosen - will be determined completely at random through a generator thing I found on a website.
How long will the contest run - from now until 7:00 PM EST on Sunday night, July 11th.
When will the winner be announced - promptly at 8:00 PM EST on Sunday night July 11th
I thank you ahead of time for indulging me in this and hope you enjoy it.
ONG
Hmmm..that is a good question!
ReplyDelete1. My husband -- he is my favorite garden partner. Although I drag him out to the garden to help me with the "big" projects and he is already a given in terms of a garden partner, he would still be number 1 on my list.
2. Jesus -- I couldn't think of a better person for conversation.
3. P. Allen Smith -- he is my favorite "garden celebrity" and I would love to walk around the garden so he could teach me everything he knows about gardening, and perhaps we could build a cool garden structure or two.
This is a tough question! I gain so much from gardener friends on Twitter and on blogs, it's tough to choose. I would pick 1. the White House gardener (Michele Obama does a lot, but not all) 2. Aldo Leopold (More naturalist than gardener, but I live in Wisconsin - he's part of my heritage) 3. Barbara Kingsolver, author of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.
ReplyDeleteMartha Stewart because she knows all the tips and secrets about gardening... even though she would probably yell at me I would learn a lot.
ReplyDeleteTodd Pennington because he is cute.. good to watch and can build cool things for the garden.
Marie Antoinette because she is a famous victorian rose gardener and I can use help with my roses.
-Robyn Palang japalang@aol.com
I grew up in New Jersey where my father settled us after acquiring a job with the Civil Service Commission. He was a Forester that couldn't find work so the US Govt. hired him and many other jobless Foresters to work in NYC. For the next 35 years and 6 children later, he rode the train to the City every day, dreaming of the weekend when he could garden again. I never realized I wasn't raised on a farm until I was much older. He kept with the tradition of his ancestors and changed our l acre lot into the most beautiful oasis he could from the City. He died too young and never saw the gardens I was to cultivate on my own property. I would choose to have him at my side once more.
ReplyDeleteThe oldest of my siblings took to gardening as my father had and transformed his lot into an amazing
"step back in time" with old varieties of flowers and roses so beautiful it was like stepping into another world. All the years that my mother lived he took time from his gardens to make sure she always had the same flower beds my father had set up. Every Spring he set about designing beautiful annual beds for her to enjoy. I loved showing off my gardens to him. He too passed way too young. I miss him dearly. If I could, I would bring him and my father back and garden once more with them. They were unique in their styles of gardens and were always busy adding touches of whimsy to the environment with wonderful senses of humor included in same. Someday, we'll be together again but what a special time it could be if it were now!
I would love to go back in time and garden with my grandfather. He loved growing flowers but he died before I could really get to know him. I often wonder if my passion for gardening came from him.
ReplyDeleteI would also love to garden with Gertrude Jeckyll as she was known for her great garden design of English gardens. I think we would have been good friends.
I would love to work in the garden with Martha Stewart. I love her design ideas and her gardens are beautiful.
(1.) Eliot Coleman, author of the Four Season Harvest, great year round veggie gardener growing in Zone 5, sooo much info so much better learned in person (2.) Paul Newman, because I would have loved to share his passion for self sufficieny, organic growing, and saving the earth-even for just one afternoon and (3) ONG - because he makes me think I know somthing about growing food, and I would love to share his passion for growing ornamentals ;-)(the way my Dad does, and the way my Great Uncle and my Grand Father did.)
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I would have to say Myleene Klass. Now, she probably knows nothing about gardening, nor does she look like she'd enjoy gardening. She probably thinks that vegetables grow into the bags in Selfridges Food hall. However, once you see her in that white bikini (Google it lads, ladies won't be impressed - unless they're the kind that favour comfortable shoes), you'll understand. Me pottering around the beds, her prancing about under a waterfall. What man could ask for more?
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I'd go for Lionel Ritchie. Again, he's probably not a gardener, nor has he, to my knowledge, ever said or done anything gardening related. One thing is sure, though. He irritates the piss out of me. Really, whenever he's on the television or he comes on the radio, I find myself shouting at him in a suddenly descended cloud of rage. I'd have him barrowing soil from one place to another, just for the hell of it. Hello, is it meat you're looking for? Just barrow th manure, Lionel.
Finally, Team Idiot would include Prometheus. I figure that anyone who spent their days chained to a rock having his liver eaten by an eagle, only for it grow back over night and the eagle to eat it all over again, every day, isn't going to complain about a bit of digging or weeding. In fact, I figure he's find the most back-breaking toil something of a walk in the park. Need a bed dug over? Prometheus is your man!
I would love to be able to work in the greenhouses with my Great-Grandfather, George E. Baldwin, he was a founding member of the American Orchid Society and was famous for his beautiful Cattleyas. I still remember the intoxicating smell of those greenhouses full of orchid blooms.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I would love to spend time in the garden with Marc Hachadourian, he's so much fun and knows more about horticulture than anyone else I have ever met.
And the third is a lovely lady named Hildegarde Howell, she is the owner of Heart's-Ease/Tewksbury Orchids. Many of her daylily hybrids are open in my garden today.
My first choice would be my little niece, Grace. She absolutely loves vegetables, and I'd like to be a part of instilling in her a more indepth appreciation of where her food comes from and the part she can play in providing her own sustenance.
ReplyDeleteMy second choice would be Will Allen of Growing Power. If you ever decide to live off the grid, all you have to do is copy his program. He's developed a closed system that provides fresh vegetables and protein by way of talapia fish. The fish provide fertilizer for the plants, the plants help filter the water for the fish. Plus, anybody that can win a MacAuthur grant of a half a million dollars has got some knowledge to pass on.
My third choice would be Thomas Jefferson. Way back then he experimented with different varieties of plants documenting how well things grew, how much they produced. They didn't have dangerous pesticides back then, so whatever methods he found worked back then would be perfect for organic gardening now.
Ohhh I love a good contest. Who would I garden with if I could choose anyone? My list would include.
ReplyDeleteBrian Minter, who as recently as 1980 transformed 32 acres of BC wilds into the stunning Minter Gardens. I have met Brian and he is so down to earth and full of passion. I'd be thrilled to spend an afternoon gardening & learning from him.
Michelle Obama, honestly anyone who enters the white house and one of the first things they do is bring back the teaching vegetable garden is aces in my book! Talk about inspirational leaders!
The last, but by far my first choice would be my deceased father. He wasn't a gardener, but I think I would enjoy the time spent with him out in the garden most of all. I never found this passion until after he passed, and it saddens me that he never got to know that I've found my calling, my balance if you will. He would have enjoyed watching me work and giving me some quips and smart alec remarks to keep me busy ;)
I want to garden with Picasso because he has a great eye for color! Barry Manilow so he could sing while I work and my best friend so we could spend time together.
ReplyDeleteCool! I love contests...
ReplyDelete1. I'd love to have the opportunity to garden with my Oma. I was too young at the time she was an avid gardener to understand why she spent so many hours bent over and then came in the house with dirt in her fingernails. If I had understood the passion and joy she felt back then I would have been right by her side every minute.
2. Both my daughters. While they understand why garden, they've not caught the fever yet. Maybe one of these days they'll meander down the garden path and find their way into the garden and say, "Mom, teach me"...
3. My former co-worker and friend Donna who was taken way to early from this earth. She taught me so much about gardening especially about perennials and trees. I'd love the opportunity for her and I to shoot the breeze while gardening just one last time. I like to think that she's got a beautiful garden up above.. :)
I would garden with George Washington Carver, Albert Einstein, and my late dad because they were all smart men that if I listened to them, I would have a very successful garden.
ReplyDeleterhoneygtn at yahoo dot com
After choosing at random using randomizer.org, the winner of my initial giveaway is ... The Idiot Gardener! Thank you all for providing your answers! They were all very thoughtful, touching and also very funny. Hope to do another in the near future. Thank you all again!
ReplyDeleteONG
Darn, I missed the contest!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to the winner. I couldn't agree more. I read that response 3 times and laughed every time!
ReplyDeleteMr IG, I need your email address when you get a chance, you can send it to me at jmarkowski0@yahoo.com. Thanks.
ReplyDelete